


The Noction Auction

by siriala



Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Auction, Bottom Jared, Human Trafficking, M/M, References to Addiction, Top Jensen, Virgin Jared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:39:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriala/pseuds/siriala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Noction was supposed to be a simple trip for Jared, not a place to be sold and married to a dashing but shifty stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Noction Auction

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2015 spn_meanttobe challenge  
> Original prompt : #56 When Mary Smith’s corrupt, debt-ridden brother drags her to a seedy pub to sell her virtue to the highest bidder, Alasdair Thornham leaps to the rescue. Of course the marquess is far from perfect husband material. Although he is exceedingly handsome, with a perfect, strong body, chiseled jaw, and piercing green eyes, Alasdair is also too fond of opium, preferring delirium to reality. Still, he has come to Mary’s aid, and now she intends to return the favor. She will show him that he is not evil, just troubled.  
> Mary was a damsel in need of a hero, but Alasdair’s plan is shortsighted. He never foresaw her desire to save him from himself. Alasdair is quite at home in his private torment, until this angel proves that a heart still beats in his broken soul. The devil may have kept her from hell, but will Mary’s good intentions lead them back to the brink—or to heaven in each other’s arms?
> 
> The word songe, borrowed from French, means dream. Playful references to Star Wars's Obi-Wan Kenobi and my first slash OTP, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan from The Phantom Menace, and to Brian O'Conner and Dom Toretto of the Fast and the Furious movies.
> 
> Beta by the wonderful honscot. Thanks once again for your fantastic work :)

\-------------

_"To dream is to walk back towards childhood."_  
("Rêver, c'est proprement rebrousser chemin vers l'enfance." Ménage, Dictionnaire étymologique, 1750, II : 400 (1694) in [Rêver. Le mot, la chose, l'histoire, by Daniel Fabre](http://terrain.revues.org/3150))

\-------------

If the perpetual auction on Noction is famous all over the galaxy, it's of course because it's free. As long as you're able to somehow make your way to the planet, you're sure to find a great place to put your merchandise on display and wait for the opportunity to make a good deal, while top-notch and just as free advertising never fails to bring the best buyers directly to you.

If you do strike a deal, the planet's commission is a bit on the high end of the usual trade scale but it's worth it as every other planet known to sentient life in the whole quadrant acknowledges the deals and respects them.

What Jared didn't know before he visited the auction is that there's a second market on Noction ; one that no self-respecting young virgin will approach for fear of finding themselves on the bad side of a sale.

\-------------

It's clear he shouldn't have trusted his stepbrother. But here's the rub : Mark is his _brother_. A drunkard, a fool, untrustworthy with money in his hands, and they're only related by the fact that Mark's father married Jared's mother. But still, his brother.

Whatever new low he's reached, never could Jared have imagined the kind of appalling plan he had come up with.

Of course, he'd been surprised by the offer to travel along – given that Mark is hardly a good sibling, and he doesn't exactly spend a lot of time with his pain-in-the-ass little brother – but Jared was tired of being cooped up all alone in their house on their backwater planet, where nothing happens on a daily basis, and he reasoned that no one had ever gone far that looked a gift horse in the mouth, not too closely anyway.

Yeah, well, that particular horse was not even a donkey with a bad kicking habit.

So here is Jared today, waiting for his virginity to be sold to the highest bidder.

This is how it happened, and how Jared is saved from a terrible fate.

\-------------

The noise brings him back to consciousness, the brouhaha of a room full of people out to have a good time, share bad, offensive jokes and get drunk together.

He wakes up feeling slightly nauseous, but it's not nearly as disconcerting as finding his arms tied in a complicated, almost artistic way, behind his back. Instead of his usual trousers and shirt, he wears a simple white tunic, toga-like, that covers Jared down to his naked feet in an elegant fold of fabric when he feels steady enough to stand up.

Until it goes down all the way.

In one click, Mark has a clip released and Jared's tunic falling to the floor, leaving him naked as the day he was born in front of this roomful of half-drunken men outbidding each other for the right to take him home and own him. Jared tries to struggle, to unbind his arms once again, to protect himself, to hide, to flee. But it's still impossible, the knots too tight, Mark's hold too strong.

"Hey guys," Mark bellows over the shouts, "say hello to Jared !"

As hellos and laughter crank up the decibel level, Jared feels each whistle like a blow to his face, each stare like a dagger. Each of his brother's words praising his beauty and assets is like poison to his soul. He's always known Mark was not a good man, but still he can't understand how they've come to this violation of their brotherly bond.

The men in the room come pretty much from the same ilk. Most of them don't bother hiding their boner at the view of his nakedness as much as his helplessness. Many are currently stroking themselves, some have even taken their dick out to show Jared what he'll be dealing with in case they manage to buy him.

Mark turns him around to show off his butt. Jared shivers with fright when he hears a man yell that he will keep him bound that way for the rest of his life, fucking him all the time.

"Show us his asshole !" another one demands.

"Sorry, guys," Mark answers. "There's got to be something left to discover for the boy's future owner."

Jared isn't sure if it makes him feel really better but still, it's one boundary Mark isn't willing to cross. Not yet at least. Jared doesn't try to fool himself that Mark won't do it in a heartbeat if he comes to think it will serve his purpose.

"Look at this virgin ass," Mark entices his prospective buyers by forcing Jared to bend in half, his butt on full display. "Think how delightful it would be to slide into this for the first time, to know you’re his one and only owner."

"How can you be so sure he's not been used already ? Such a pretty thing…"

"My brother was raised in the Nargylian faith and he's very devoted to his belief. They teach that your body belongs only to your husband. Plus I've seen the kid grow up. I didn't let him wander off and I can attest he is still pure as snow."

Which is both true and a crock of bullshit, seeing as Mark became his stepbrother when Jared was fifteen already and he hasn't taken care of Jared at all until very recently, probably when he realized the value of Jared's virginity. The virginity he's able to advertise today because Jared's faith has indeed prompted him to save himself for the right person.

He kind of regrets it right now. And that's when the auction starts properly.

The price is not that high to begin with, probably just covering the price of their trip, but Mark has made sure that every customer's glass is kept constantly full and soon the auction soars. Little by little, and even though misery has to be written all over Jared's face, offers to buy him get incredibly high. They get even higher every time Mark turns him around to show his ass once more.

It's a nightmare, a production of his feverish mind, an hallucination brought by something bad he had for dinner. He can't be a few minutes away from being sold to one of these drunken nobodies.

Then he hears it, the growly, sexy voice coming from the back of the room.

"Two million !"

Over his shoulder, Jared shoots the unknown man a disbelieving look. Two million has to be the budget of some small countries on many planets.

The silence is suddenly thick after the ruckus of the savage auction. Everybody stares at the gorgeous man slowly making his way to the stage.

The stranger stops in front of his soon-to-be possession, never letting his eyes stray from Jared's. Jared who can't help feeling relieved, as much to see that his probable buyer is exceedingly handsome as from the fact that he looks saner than most other bidders. His clothes are no different than what any other guy out there wears, but there's an aura about him, something that will always make him stand out in a room, be it populated by lowlifes or the highest society. His handsomeness is only part of it. Jared doesn't really know how to explain it. There's something magnetic about this man who wants to claim him, something he could very well succumb to.

Mark's face is split by the hugest smile Jared has ever seen. The auctioneer repeats the stranger's offer once, then twice, but of course no one is able to match it so the short Noctioner raises both his hands above his head and claps them. The noise of the sensors in his palms hitting each other indicates the auction is over and the computers record the deal.

Jared is sold.

\-------------

Correction : according to the auctioneer's next words, Jared is married.

Once the payment is confirmed by the sensors, Jared's new husband comes to him. His first move, while Jared's ties are cut per his orders, and even before introducing himself, is to grip the tunic from the ground and secure it back on Jared's shoulder to protect his modesty and hide his nudity.

Maybe it's the cold and the fright, or maybe it's the light touch of the man along his flanks and arms that has Jared breaking into shivers, enough that his buyer sheds his vest to help Jared pulling it on too. It's a bit tight on him, but it smells nice and it's warm, and Jared feels even more at ease. Whatever happens now, he's sure the man won't try to harm him and that he'll listen when Jared explains that he hasn't been brought here willingly.

Then their eyes meet and it's clear that the stranger feels just as out of his depth in this instant that none of them had expected. Maybe even more, as Jared keeps on admiring the beautiful features of the man who bought him, endeared by his obvious discomfort and sweetness.

"Hi," the guy says at last. "I'm Jensen. I want you to know that you have nothing to fear. You're free now."

Jared is left speechless. The man just spent two million on him and he asks for nothing in return.

"I'll repay you," Jared stutters. He has no idea how, and even less how to really thank his savior, but he'll do it.

"That's not really necessary. I just couldn't stand seeing you so afraid and distressed up there."

A man comes to stand next to them. Lost in his contemplation, Jared has to force himself to look at him but then he realizes this is the Noctioner auctioneer – the very satisfied Noctioner auctioneer, judging by the smile on his face, which probably means his commission is as huge as unexpected in such a dive – watching them with a serene expression. His badge reads Curtis, right above the Arm Strong Auction Corporation logo symbolized by two muscled arms raised just like Curtis did a few minutes ago to conclude their deal.

"Sorry to interrupt," Curtis says, "but I couldn't help hearing your conversation and I think there's been a slight misunderstanding. You two pretty boys are _married_ now ! That was the point of this auction."

"Is it really legal ?" both Jensen and he ask rather comically at the same time, wearing the same disgruntled expression.

"Irremediably. Marriage is not taken lightly on Noction ! It can't be broken, not before five years together at least, and even then you have to come up with a very important reason why you've changed your mind to stand a chance to be granted a separation."

"Isn't an auction in which I was a forced deal reason enough ?!" Jared exclaims.

"Your brother's credentials as your legal guardian are satisfactory."

"And what if I argue that I only paid to save him ?" Jensen intervenes.

"The judge will tell you that no one and nothing forced your hand. You both better get used to the idea. You're married, and that's final."

The man wanders away, leaving them to absorb the definitive reality of the situation.

"Sorry, man," Jensen says. "It was supposed to help you, not trap you with me instead of one of the other bidders."

"Don't compare yourself to those horrible men !" Jared shivers, burrowing deeper into his rescuer's vest. "You did it all to help so don't worry about me. For what it's worth, I'm sorry too. Not that you helped me escape a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but sorry for being such a numbskull, for repaying your generosity by imposing myself on you. My brother's schemes leave you saddled just as unwillingly with a husband you didn't choose."

"Well, we'll just have to make the best of a bad job. I promise I won't force myself on you and that you'll be free to live your life the way you want. I have a big house, you won't even have to see me if you don't want to. We'll be able to keep on living completely separate lives. And I won't stand in your way if you meet someone that… someone you're attracted to."

Jared looks up at that, utterly shocked.

"I can't… I'm not that kind of person."

Jared stops and blushes. He doesn't dare to add that it will be Jensen or no one for him. Marriage vows are sacred. Even the ones he didn't take.

"I get it, Jared, I really do. But I can't hold you responsible for this and this is not your usual marriage. You're young, you're bound to fall in love someday."

Jensen is so understanding and kind, and yet his attitude makes Jared feel abandoned in a way. Shortchanged.

"I know you're trying to do right by me but I'm yours now. This shouldn't be a one-way relationship."

Jared blushes again and shuts up but Jensen seems to hear what he can't say.

"You're sweet," he says, cupping Jared's jaw with the palm of his right hand. The tips of his fingers gently brush Jared's cheek and Jared feels himself shiver again. But this is not disgust he's experiencing right now, and Jared's glad the vest is long enough to hide his growing problem.

"I don't want you to settle for less than love," Jensen adds. "Your first time has to be magic."

\-------------

Jensen hadn't lied. His house is really big, so much so they are able to live two parallel lives that never connect. As promised, he's also never tried to force himself on Jared. He hasn't so much as tried to kiss him. Not even a peck on the cheek.

Jared waits all day, every day for him to leave his part of the house but Jensen has made himself scarce after giving Jared the tour of his big, impersonal home. The chores are done by old-fashioned robots, not even androids Jared could speak with, so his time is spent mostly alone. The first time he tries to use the computer to read, a synthetic voice utters "The reverie alone will do." Jared understands it wants an answer, the password to unlocking the device, but all his attempts fail. He gets quickly annoyed with the strange sentence, that Jensen doesn't really explain when he finally leave his bedroom and sets a personal session and his own password for Jared.

The first thing Jared checks is for potential representatives of his faith here on Noction. There's none, so he registers with an online site to follow the tenets and hear the words of God, but it only takes him a few minutes every day, an hour, tops, and then Jared is left to his own company again.

Jared is bored, and he's depressed. What's the point of having a house as big as a castle and the most generous husband if his life looks so much like the one he's left behind ?

What's the point of his husband being so gorgeous if Jared can't brag about it, show off at his side, and enjoy the very special, very physical relationship they're supposed to share ?

"I'm not interested in a relationship," Jensen tells him the day Jared finds the courage to speak during dinner, the only moment of the day they share. "I sleep part of the day away, and I spend all my nights in the Reverie."

"The what ?"

Jared's never heard of such a place, and he's never seen or heard Jensen going out after Jared has gone to sleep. But it would make sense. Jensen never shows up before late afternoon, although Jared didn't know before Jensen's admission if he's sleeping or just avoiding the husband he never asked for. He could have been working, but Jared figures than someone able to pay two million on the spot to save a virgin in distress doesn't have to work to make a living. He can certainly pay other people to deal with the troubles that come with a job.

"The Reverie," Jensen repeats. "I guess you could say it's kind of a game. And that I'm kind of… addicted."

"How come you were at the auction, then ?"

"My system needed an upgrade and it was inaccessible for a few hours, at risk of endangering my mind if I forced it. I didn't trust myself to resist if I was home, so I decided to go get drunk."

Jensen turns towards Jared, a self-deprecating smile on his handsome face.

"That's why we had to wait till morning to come here after the auction : the house was on lockdown until after the upgrade was done," Jensen adds sheepishly. "I hadn't gone out at night in months, maybe years. I ended up at the tavern, and then I saw you…"

Jared falls on his knees and sends a heartfelt prayer to God. It can't be anything else than the hand of his maker protecting him, on this occasion in which Jared could have lost himself and everything he believed in, by placing Jensen in his path and saving him.

"Jared ?" Jensen enquires with worry. "What's wrong ?"

"Nothing's wrong," he answers with a delighted smile. "You just confirmed that we're destined to be together. You were to save me just as I am to save you from your addiction."

\-------------

Jared's plan is simple. Admittedly, he doesn't know much about seducing the man you love. But he's always heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. He decides to begin with this and build from there.

The first step is to ask Jensen to show him where to buy food.

"You need to tell me where it's okay for me to go, and the places that are forbidden to me."

"What do you mean ? Nothing's forbidden to you."

Jared might be happy that his husband is not a jerk ready to rattle his chain just because he can, but he wants to make him feel involved in Jared's life.

"That's nice of you. Still, I need you to show me which places are safe and which are not. I don't wish for a repeat of the situation that led to our encounter."

Jared puts a frightened expression on his face and Jensen's reaction is immediate.

"No problem, we'll go investigate this afternoon, see what's around that you might be interested in. Is that alright ?"

"Great !"

If Jensen isn't more knowledgeable on the subject already, that's because he has everything bought on the net by his robot majordomo and delivered to his house.

None of this for Jared. They end up spending at least three afternoons a week together out buying groceries or whatever stuff Jared has decreed they need at home. It's all part of the plan to make Jensen feel at home in his own house. A real home, where he feels good and free despite Jared's intrusion ; or maybe even thanks to Jared's intrusion.

"What are you doing ?" Jensen asks the first time he finds Jared in the kitchen. "It smells delicious !"

"I'm baking. It's an old Earth recipe, the four-quarters cake. Did I tell you that my mother came from Earth ? This was her secret recipe."

"Yeah ? Did you cook and bake a lot with her ?"

"Quite a bit, yes. And seeing that you're my husband, you're allowed to learn her tricks, too. The secret here is to add the zest of a Xanga lemon. You're going to love this flavor !"

Jensen seems a bit dubious but, although a picky eater at the best of times, he asks for more at the end of the dinner. Jared's definitely lucky that Jensen's fortune authorizes him to buy overpriced ingredients imported from Earth, before he has time to learn to go local. The food market is just as much of an auction as the rest of the planet and Jared is glad that he wasn't alone to learn how to deal with this, especially when the process is long and they spend so much time together. Jensen even looks like he agrees now that it's much more fun to buy live together than through his computer.

Jared's plan is obviously a win all around.

For the next part, Jared needs to find a way to get Jensen out of the house and spend more time with him on a more regular basis. This one's easy too.

"Is there some place to visit on Noction ?" Jared asks at lunch, once he's managed to get Jensen up and ready late in the morning, rather than during the afternoon, and sharing a second meal together every day. "You know, monuments, museums… ?"

"I think so. Not that I've seen much of them, but I've heard of the ancient treasures, before the planet was turned into the huge auction field it is today. You want me to find out what's still around and what's open to the public ?"

"That would be great !"

Jared remains conscious that they will have to find someday a better occupation to bring them together, some kind of common project to tether them each to the other but, in the meanwhile, to interest Jensen in the past of his planet and share it with Jared seems like a good way to ground him. Indeed, it feels to Jared that Jensen suffers from a lack of roots as well as a lack of direction.

So they begin to get out for fun in addition to their trips to the markets. Jensen quickly gets caught in the game and keeps on finding new places for Jared and himself to discover. His money definitely helps to open doors a general audience couldn't trespass, and he does it all to make Jared happy. The only restriction Jensen brings to their entente is that he needs to get back home in the evening to enjoy his own time out.

There's no question that the last step in Jared's plan will be the hardest one : sever Jensen's addiction to the Reverie.

\-------------

Jared tries to be patient. Jensen is so giving, so wonderful, that Jared feels bad for wanting more. But he can't take sleeping alone night after night when his body is calling for Jensen's touch and love.

But every time he brings that topic up, Jensen gets more fleeting than ever.

"I'm no relationship material, Jared. I don't want to hurt you but you're better off on your own," Jensen answers before he retreats back quickly to his bedroom and generally cancels their plans for the next two or three days.

It's clear the only way to combat the addiction is to go on the offensive. Barge into the enemy's fort and battle from there.

This is why Jared, armed with his resolution and his hopes, enters Jensen's bedroom less than six months after they were legally and not in so many words pronounced husband and husband.

He finds said husband seemingly asleep in a comfy chair cushioned on all sides. None of Jared's noise makes him stir but as Jared gets closer, he can see that Jensen's eyes are agitated by constant REM. His lips move too sometimes to form silent words, and Jared is hard-pressed not to lean forward and kiss them the way he's wanted since their first encounter. He wants Jensen awake and willing when they share their first kiss.

Jared's enemy isn't much to look at, a small and simple button-like device attached to Jensen's right temple. But as small as it stands, its control over Jensen is complete. Jared waits, and he waits, but the Reverie keeps her hold over his husband, jealous mistress who will not abandon her lover to his rightful mate.

Jared wakes up hours later. At some point during the night, he grew weary of waiting for Jensen to come out of the Reverie so he settled on the luscious bed that looks just like the one in his own bedroom. Only Jensen's scent makes it much more attractive. The scent that is not just embedded into the pillows but comes directly from the man lying next to him. Jensen let him sleep with him when he quit the Reverie. He threw the quilt over him to make sure he wouldn't get cold, even though the environment is computer-controlled and the temps always calculated to suit everyone best.

It's so close to each and every one of Jared's dreams since they married that he doesn’t hesitate to close the distance between them and tuck his head between Jensen's and his shoulder. After two minutes, he goes for the kill and slides his arm around Jensen's waist. He's never slept with someone else, not since he was a kid anyway and his mother tried to comfort him after a nightmare. It feels so right here, and it's even better when Jensen turns from his back to his side and puts an arm around Jared too.

Jared's heart beats so fast, and he's not sure if he wants Jensen to wake up or not.

\-------------

As much as he tried to enjoy the feeling of being in Jensen's arms for as long as possible, Jared fell back asleep. The second time he woke up, Jensen was gone and his fumbled apologies for invading Jensen's bedroom were met with an awkward "no problem" that didn't encourage any further discussion.

Jared is not going to make the same mistake tonight. He knocks on Jensen's door a few minutes after they've said goodnight and goes in after his third try receives no more answer that the two previous ones.

Jensen never heard him from the bathroom, the sound of the shower covering any other noise. Jared keeps his courage firmly in hand and sits on the bed to wait. He gets a little bit hot, thinking of his husband naked under the water's stream, but it's nothing next to the flush he feels over his whole body when Jensen appears on the bathroom threshold, still quite wet and glistening, wearing nothing more than a towel around his waist.

"Jared ? Did you need something ?"

Obviously, the cat got Jared's tongue, or the damn thing dried up in his mouth and Jared is totally incapable of activating it. Jensen worries and sits next to him, which only makes Jared's trouble deeper. He focuses on Jensen's wet lashes, then tries for his full pink lips, the freckles standing out even more than usual on the recently scrubbed and flushed skin of his face.

The naked thigh peeking out when the towel slides, the bulge covered as much as revealed by the same damn towel.

Nothing works.

"Jared ?" Jensen tries again. "Talk to me, please. You're frightening me."

Jared gulps and Jensen seems to understand his problem. He goes back to the bathroom to fetch a glass of water that he offers to Jared. The coolness of the liquid definitely helps and Jared finds his voice again.

"I just… I don't wanna be alone tonight. Can I stay with you ? Please, I won't disturb you, I just need to feel close to you."

Jensen doesn't agree immediately, but he folds quickly enough when confronted with Jared's puppy eyes.

"Of course you can stay here," he crumbles, "but won't the light disturb your sleep ?"

"I don't care," Jared answers, still trying to find a way to bring up the topic of the Reverie.

"Alright, get into the bed and I'll get dressed. I don't think I make a lot of noise when I'm in the Reverie, you shouldn't even know I'm not sleeping like you."

Jensen goes back to the bathroom again, to put his night clothes on this time, to Jared's great sorrow.

Jared opens the bed and that's when he sees it, in the half-open drawer of the nightstand, the device Jensen was wearing last night on his temple. It's set next to four other similar-looking buttons, and Jared can only guess the others are replacements that he can use to dream with Jensen. The little bit he's read said that people could go into synchronized Reverie and interact, that it takes a bit of work and effort to master the program and get it to do exactly what you want. Paired with such an addict as Jensen, Jared is sure it will be more than easy.

"Why don't you lie next to me ?" he asks when Jensen comes back and Jared tries to keep his husband from going for the big chair he's found him in the previous night.

And if Jensen thinks Jared's pushing too far, his sweet nature simply won't allow him to say no to his obviously distressed husband. He doesn't realize that Jared has taken the Reverie device before he lies next to him and searches his nightstand for one, discovering the glaring hole left by Jared's theft.

"Jared, why did you take the button ?" Jensen asks, turning towards Jared.

It's now or never, Jared thinks.

"I want to experience the Reverie with you."

"I can't advise you to do that."

"But you can't prevent me either. I want us to be closer, to understand each other. It means I need to join this part of your life or we'll never be real husbands."

His hand brings the button to his temple.

"Jared, you can't do this ! You have no idea how addictive it can be !"

"All I care is that you don't want me because of the Reverie. Every warlord, from Sun Tzu to Obi-Wan Kenobi, will tell you this : know your enemy. I want to know what I'm fighting against. To understand it from the inside."

Dismissing more argument, Jared lies down and takes Jensen's hand after attaching the device to his own temple. Then he turns his head towards his husband who's still watching from above, propped on his elbow.

"Besides," he adds, "if I get lost, you'll be there to save me once again."

Jensen doesn't answer, he just squeezes Jared's hand.

Jared feels himself fall gently into the beginning of some kind of altered state. The trip is actually quite pleasant.

"Jared ?"

"Yes ?"

"Who's this Obi Kanobi ?"

Jared chuckles.

"You spend your life in your dreams and you don't know Obi-Wan ?! Follow me, love. I'll show you."

\-------------

__  
It was not a dream. Jared's consciousness was still there, just displaced to another plane of existence where his body had no bearing on reality. This might have been the strangest feeling of all, and it took a while to accustom himself to the knowledge that the vague sensation of his Reverie body was supposed to be the only real _one in this altered world._

_"Jared !" he heard somewhere to his left._

_Jensen was looking at him. His Reverie double had a subtle nuance to him that made him all the more magnificent ; an aura, a certainty. Although totally similar in looks, the enviable ease he had bestowed on himself in the Reverie could make him either more attractive than ever or just totally insufferable._

_Jared turned to him like a flower towards its sun, slowly, not sure yet how to operate this new body but intent on using it to his advantage. If Jensen's Reverie avatar proved more daring that the real man, he might show his living self that touching Jared and loving him weren't frightening goals._

_Jared went for it, testing his own abilities in this world, and brought his arms around Jensen's neck to get him closer. Jensen let him do it with a benign smile, obviously amused by Jared's unusually forward attitude._

_It was definitely easier to feel handsome and wanted here, far easier than in the real world where you couldn't control your appearance, little details like the label of your shirt sticking out on the skin of your neck, the fresh and perfumed parsley you just ate with your salad sticking between your teeth and showing when you try to entice your lover with your sexiest smile._

_Jensen laughed suddenly._

_"Jared, you need to know that I kind of hear your thoughts here. You'll have to learn to be a bit less conspicuous if you want to keep them to yourself."_

_"What ?! Why would they do that ?" Jared asked, cursing the program's developers._

_"It's a sharing experience, when you do it in tandem at least. Usually it helps to show someone how you feel about something, the way you lived an event. It derives from the software developed by the police to help witnesses relive a crime scene and share it with the officers. Wanna try it from my side ?"_

_Jared slowly nodded, afraid of Jensen's feelings for him, or the lack thereof, that might show too clearly. And then he squashed the thought, remembering that Jensen could hear him._

_Jensen took control and Jared hardly realized the scenery had changed._

_But then he recognized the room as the tavern he had been sold in. Instead of his original shiver of fear and the disgusting feeling of total display when he saw himself appearing on stage just as naked and helpless as the day it happened, Jared felt gorgeous. There was no humiliation, but sincere admiration. Even desire, Jared happily sensed. This was the way Jensen had lived his auction, his natural reaction to Jared being on offer so publicly._

_On the contrary, Mark looked grosser than ever, the features of his face subtly deformed to make him seem completely evil, though still himself._

_There was no love or understanding for Mark in Jensen's mind. No, it was all for Jared, the explanation of his spontaneous help. The healthy appreciation for Jared's body, with stares that couldn't really stop roaming around his form, especially his genitals and ass, his pecs tagging close, making Jared feel twice as beautiful as he really was ; the authentic need to get him out of danger, to protect without ulterior motive, without will to possess and defile._

_Their genuine attraction for each other, when Jensen's mind retreated a bit and let Jared's in, flowed freely between them, quite a bit frightening for Jared in its sudden revelation. Difficult to know if it was complete reconstruction done by Jensen or a late acceptance of his early feelings on Jared's part. He had certainly found his rescuer handsome but he was in no real place to work on any sexual desire at that time._

_He could see how the Reverie could become addictive, turning a situation to one's advantage, embellishing a story or erasing some damning acts, playing into human beings' propensity to change hard facts and interpret them through their own ideas and feelings._

_"The reverie alone will do," the voice of Jensen's computer said, and Jared felt no closer to understanding what that meant than the first time he had heard it._

_He had forgotten to check this after Jensen had set a personal session for Jared. He regretted it now, especially when Jensen looked annoyed with himself for letting this play into their current Reverie._

_"So, who's Oki Wallobee ?" he asked, not so subtly changing the topic of conversation._

_"You're doing this on purpose, right ?"_

_"Me ?" Jensen's avatar responded, the very picture of innocence wrongly accused._

_Even though his projections weren't quite as smooth as Jensen's, Jared did his best to display the images of the Jedi knight he could remember as per the latest vid done about his legendary exploits. Cheesy as it had been, the actor was smoking hot and, as soon as Jared felt at ease enough with the Reverie, he didn't hesitate to add a few of his own fantasies about Obi-Wan and his handsome master's very special relationship, to try and test the water, gauge Jensen's reaction to the sensual kiss between the two actors._

_"Nice," Jensen commented. "Too bad this is not in the script. Let's have our own fun play, come on !"_

_The scenery changed again before Jared could answer, fluid and natural as in a real dream. They were now in a deserted landscape, a different-looking Jensen sitting high on a black, shiny beast Jared couldn't recognize but that he could guess was used as a horse. Jared himself sat on another one of these animals, ill at ease at first until he realized he just had to think he could master the wild beast and it would become true._

_"I'm Dean Winchester," the leather-clad stranger introduced himself, "your guide and bodyguard to travel this forsaken land and protect you from all evil."_

_"I'm Sam Campbell," Jared replied after a two-second thought, taken by the game, "your soon-to-be husband."_

_Dean threw his head back and laughed._

_"I can't wait to go on this wild ride with you," he announced and then, turning his mount, he rode hard and fast towards the mountain, Sam close on his heels, refusing to be distanced.  
_

\-------------

After hours of western-style adventures, the Reverie just ended with a well-deserved wedding and a kiss – Jared's script, of course – so it's only expected when Jared turns towards his husband as soon as he's awake and kisses him again. For the first time.

It's a weird thought, and yet such a natural act. Fated to be, God would say.

Jensen goes with the flow, opening up to Jared's onslaught, and then quickly takes the lead when he realizes that Jared doesn't really know what he's doing. It's only a few seconds before Jensen pushes Jared to lie down on his back and covers his body with his own.

Instantly, Jared's arms close around Jensen's waist, his hands finding their way under the shirt to get to his husband's skin, warm and smooth. The sensation of Jensen's palms and fingers on his own skin is akin to a gentle electrocution, a rapid fire coursing through his veins, disabling all movements on his part for a while, save for the twining of his tongue with Jensen's.

It's bliss, and yet he wants more.

Jensen offers more, so much more, when he pushes Jared's clothes out of the way, leaving him naked once again for his devouring gaze. He's let go of all his reservations to make love to Jared, sampling every inch of his body with his lips and fingers. Jared follows every demand, ravenous for the exacerbated feelings Jensen has revealed to him. He stretches out on his back, and then on his front, and his moans only ever get louder, closer, longer.

He arches off the bed when Jensen's fingers enter him one after the other, reverent but possessive. The first touch of his prostate is nothing but pure, liquid pleasure licking down each and every nerve of his body, and it goes on for long minutes as Jensen invades Jared's body with two, then three fingers and keeps on hitting that terribly sweet spot.

"Please," Jared begs as he feels Jensen's cock rubbing the inside of his thigh, leaving behind a trail of pre-come Jared wants to taste.

The tips of his fingers gather the moisture and bring it to his lips, bitter and salty flavor exploding on his taste buds.

"Please," he implores once more, because he wants all of Jensen, all inside of him, not just his taste but the physical blending of two mates his faith promises to the ones who have waited for their righteous lover. He always thought it was too much to ask for, one of the few tenets he's been questioning, but here and now with Jensen he knows he's going to get it in spades.

The flowery scent of the antibiotic lube mixes well with his own and its gliding power has Jensen smoothly penetrating Jared. He feels big, maybe too much, but Jared is keen on welcoming him inside. He loosens up, pushes backwards, helps Jensen breaching any resistance his body's putting up. Thrust after thrust, Jensen progresses, then he bottoms out and Jared wants the moment to last forever.

"You feel so good," Jensen whispers, "you feel like mine."

Such heady words that Jared almost protests when Jensen rears back, but all he does is gasp, the sensation shutting him up. He fights to breathe as Jensen goes in and out again and again, the pleasure of the strokes along his inner walls only bested by his prostate erupting in flame time and time again. Awash in sensations, he's not sure he can survive long but he never wants it to stop.

Jensen only needs to put his hand on his leaking cock and Jared tips over, keening. He kind of blacks out for a few seconds and comes back just in time to feel Jensen pulsing his own release inside him.

They move just as far as to lie side by side, Jensen still half on Jared, heavy but comforting, reassuring after what they just shared. The wet spot under Jared is dried in less than a minute by the bed's receptors so there's no need to change their sleeping arrangement, only the feeling that they can give in to the need for sleep in each other's arms.

Jensen is of course showing remorse the next morning, afraid he's taken away Jared's chance for happiness with the mate he would have chosen, given the liberty to do so. It's all Jared can do not to smack him on the head to make him see reason when he tries to kiss him and Jensen tells him not to.

Jared perseveres, proves in a few minutes of making out that they both want this equally.

"You can't say no anymore than I can," he says forcefully. "You're mine, just as much as I'm yours. You owe it to our marriage to give yourself to me entirely, because I'm your husband and I need you just like you need me. I love you and you're mine, Jensen, do you hear me ? You don't belong to the Reverie, you belong to me."

"I hear you."

There's no "I love you, too", not right now, but Jensen's hand comes up to caress his face tenderly, and his stare is too loving for Jared to feel bad. He knew it would be a combat, and from his current place in Jensen's arms, it's pretty obvious the days of the Reverie are numbered.

So they enter this new routine in which they spend pretty much all their time together. Jared has never been so happy ; he's never felt so cared for, and he's beginning to suspect that Jensen is in the same place. Jensen who never speaks much about his own family – Jared thinks Jensen's parents are dead, just like his – but shows all the signs of an abandoned child who had to raise himself and came up with a way to live with ghosts in his mind to avoid loneliness.

The answers to Jared's questions are given in a Reverie, about five months after they began dreaming together.

\-------------

__  
They'd played at being Dean and Sam for a while, definitely their favorite personae amongst the various ones they'd created in the Reverie, perfect combination of each of their own skills and looks, that meshed together so profoundly they sometimes found themselves speaking with their character's voices again during the day, far from the Reverie.

_They started sometimes with the premise of being strangers ; other times, they already knew each other, friends or lovers. On one memorable occasion, they were brothers, and Jared had never felt so much at home with someone since his mother's death._

_The few times Jared had tried to steer the script towards a father/son relationship, Jensen had immediately veered away by using big honking diversionary tactics._

_Nothing could have excited Jared's curiosity more thoroughly._

_Now that his mastery of the Reverie had improved enough that he felt he could parry Jensen's evasive maneuvers, Jared was intent on tackling the subject of Jensen's childhood. His own life had taught him a thing or two about solitude and he was positive addressing the problem could only help his husband in dealing with it more sanely._

_He might have been helped by Jensen's unconscious need to include some parts of his earlier life in their scripts, despite the fact that he had seemingly avoided it since the beginning of their going into Reverie together. Jensen's growing trust in Jared also explained the lowering of his protective walls. Whatever. But Jared wasn't quite ready when Jensen started to let his personal vision of his life play for him._

_He was a sweet, fair-haired kid. Vivacious, but his smiles were few and far between. Heartbreakingly lonely, saddled with parents constantly working or socializing, Jensen had raised himself. By the time he was about ten, the family's arrival on Noction, motivated by work, hadn't changed much of anything, if not for the fact that the demands on his parents' time were multiplied and Jensen's loneliness followed the same curve._

_He had found in online communities the first means to escape his disappointing day-to-day experience. Not allowed to attend school for fear of someone abusing his trust and stealing the Ackles' money, Jensen didn't have friends to rely on or teach him how to have a relationship. The robots used for his homeschooling didn't bother with friendship or human finesse. They set out to get the job done, period._

_As any teenager trying to turn the rules on their heads, Jensen learned to play with computers and programs when he decided to master his robotic teachers. He invented friends and lovers, people who enjoyed his company and loved to spend time with him. It became worse when his parents had to flee after the biggest financial scandal Noction had ever known, leaving their only son behind to face the consequences of their actions._

_The Noction authorities put Jensen in an orphanage where everything was of course paid for through auctions. After sixteen, every orphan had to use their skills to pay for their bed and food. Jensen then developed his programmer's talent by creating games, to such a point that the Noction police department soon realized what kind of advantage could be found in employing him._

_Jensen's first auctioned prize was to create a program to get into a perp's head and find out about their potential culpability. He sold it to get his parents free of all charges, hoping to bring them back into his life. But although the deal was agreed on and honored, neither one of his parents ever came back. They had founded a very prosperous new company on the planet they had fled to and really felt no desire to confront the scorn they were sure to meet with back on Noction._

_They didn't offer Jensen to join them either._

_It took Jensen close to one year, still living in his orphanage, to develop and auction a new version of his program called Reverie, after the very short poem written by Emily Dickinson, the only one his mother had taught him when he was a little kid who hadn't realized yet how unloved he really was._

_"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee…"_

_Jensen appeared as this past kid and kept on reciting for his mom._

_"One clover, and a bee._  
And revery.  
The revery alone will do.  
If bees are few." 

_The revery alone will do. It became Jensen's mantra, his most profound belief as he built his own fortune by auctioning more programs that brought him big bucks, but never more than the Reverie still did. Many people were ready to pay for the chance to feel loved and happy for a few hours, even though they knew perfectly well that it was just an altered mental state and synapses firing. So many that Jensen had had to put a time limit on his devices to make sure people – or himself – would not get lost in their own minds and the Reverie._

_"Your turn," Jensen prompted._

_Jared's own story felt trite and uneventful next to Jensen's, his upbringing classic and ordinary, though quite lonely too when Jared's mother had to work a lot to make ends meet. Her remarriage with Mark's father never changed his life much, save for the fact that they lived more opulently and his mother could afford to get back to a one-job-only schedule. His stepfather was an aloof man, kind but in over his head when dealing with his own son. Jared was easier to handle, sure, but the older man had already given up on a lot of fronts and he never tried to become very involved in the teenager's life._

_They had left Earth to try and distance Mark from his friends and their bad influence on him after he had been arrested for the third time. It only served to turn Mark into the bad influence over the new friends he made on their sleepy new planet. The friends Jared avoided like the plague because they mocked his faith but still looked at him in a worrying way._

_Jared's parents died in an accident when Jared was eighteen – still a minor per their adoptive planet's law, making him Mark's ward and his de facto servant. Jared soon felt safer locked up in his own bedroom whenever he didn't have to go out to buy food or any other product to help in his domestic tasks, while Mark was more than happy to forget about the much younger brother he was supposed to take care of but instead used to control the little bit of money left by their parents._

_Jared had ditched long ago any regret for blindly following Mark into an adventure that was potentially dangerous but had turned for the better. Jensen's past only proved they were made for each other. Jared didn't have to fight the Reverie. He knew he had in himself everything Jensen needed to be happy._

_He_ was _everything Jensen needed to be happy.  
_

\-------------

Jensen doesn't get rid of his addiction in a few days, not even in a few months. But as long as he can go with him into the Reverie, Jared doesn't really mind.

Now they're close to the two-year anniversary of their marriage and they rarely go into Reverie more than twice a week. Jared finds he quite likes it anyway, this fabulous way to share privileged moments with Jensen, to meld their minds without words. Making love when you're under the Reverie spell means that you can feel everything, every sensation, yours as well as your lover's, and the longer it lasts, the sexier the feedback loop becomes. Jared's had multiple orgasms in the Reverie that would make a hardcore porn star blush and faint. Not to mention the numerous times Jared's avatar himself became a hardcore porn star to lure and please his husband.

They have a great life, and Jared's made a lot of headway in his establishment of a common project to tie them. First, they created a foundation to protect Noction's past from the ever-growing auction field and managed to have a law passed to ensure that a small but permanent percentage of every deal would be used to maintain this historical past in good condition. Jared realized one day, after talking with a few kids, that they knew nothing of their planet's history, so they encouraged professors to sign up their classes for visits to significant places by organizing free trips, thanks to another foundation.

But Jared's biggest project is still in the making. Meeting all those kids has shown him that Jensen's solitary upbringing is sadly far from the only example. Not even the worst one. So they're working on something to try and make the life of some kids less lonely, getting more and more help from locals who want their planet to be more than a huge auction.

Their visitor today has nothing to do with their project, though. Jared thinks he's seen him before but he can't place him until the short, smiling man introduces himself and reminds Jared and Jensen of the first time they met.

"Curtis," he says as he shakes Jared's hand, "your auctioneer two years ago. Effectively, the guy who married you."

"I remember," Jensen answers. "What can we do for you, Curtis ?"

"You've done a lot already. Thanks to your commission, I was able to buy the Arm Strong Corporation. I'm the boss now, and I'm making a lot of money !"

Judging from his satisfied grin, it's indeed _a lot_ of money.

"I'm here to repay my debt to you," Curtis continues. "As the boss, I don't work at the tavern anymore, but my luck on the day our paths crossed is still the talk of everyone so people like to tell me about your doings. It so happens that someone was asking questions about you two yesterday to the new auctioneer at the tavern you met and married, as well as about the other auctions available in the quadrant. Someone who seems to look very much like the guy who sold you in the first place. My guy knew better than to answer but considering your high profile I don't doubt the man will find you soon."

Jared turns towards his husband and finds in his arms the strength he needs. He hasn't heard from his brother since the auction, and he thought they were done, that Mark would steer clear of him to avoid any problem. His reappearance is more than worrying.

It takes only two days for Mark to track him down and stand on his doorstep, accompanied by someone wearing a big hooded cape. The majordomo android Jared talked his husband into buying lets them in while Jared and Jensen are out – waiting in the special room under video surveillance created for solicitors – so they have no other choice than to talk to their visitors when they get back home.

"It's been brought to my attention," Mark says as he gets up with a big, friendly smile and his arms wide open to hug Jared, "that I've proved to be the worst brother out there and that I should come and rescue you right now."

Jared stops him with a non-friendly blocking gesture.

"Really ? Who is this genius who managed to get it through your thick skull that selling another human being, let alone your own brother, is reprehensible ?" he taunts his brother.

But Mark doesn't rise to the bait. Instead, he turns around and offers his hand to the woman waiting close behind him so that she comes forward.

"A woman I met who stole my heart," Mark presents his companion.

Her smile is a bit too big to be honest. Jared is not surprised at all to find that she's a looker, bright red hair framing a beautiful face. Mark's type entirely.

"This is Alaina, my wife," Mark introduces her. "I told her about you and she said she wants to know you and be your sister. She wants me to do the right thing by you, buy you back and bring you home to live with us."

"What ?" Jensen exclaims. "I'm the one protecting Jared now, ever since you lost that right forever by selling him. Jared's not going anywhere."

Jared puts a hand on Jensen's arm to calm him down as much as to remind him of their bond that no amount of bullshit from his brother could ever sever.

"That's very noble of you, Mark," Jared says, unable to keep all traces of sarcasm out of his voice, "but Jensen's right. He's my lawful husband and we're happy together."

"Come on, Jared," Mark pleads, still ignoring Jensen. "I'm glad Ackles took good care of you but he's not family, not like we are. You wouldn't even have married him if it wasn't for me bringing you here and selling you under the influence of alcohol. You can't trust someone who bought you !"

So this is gonna be his excuse. This time Jared almost lets Jensen go and hit Mark. The gall the man has to present things like that !

"He's more family than you ever were !" Jared counters. "He listens to me, and he does everything he can to make sure I'm happy. He's done it from the first day, when you abandoned me with a stranger who could have mistreated me in the worst way and you didn't care for one second."

Mark shows the good grace to look contrite.

"At least let me make amends, and try to be a brother now. A good one. I don't want you to think you don't deserve it. Let's spend some time together to recapture our bond."

"We never had any bond, Mark. You squandered what little money our parents left us and then you took me to Noction to reline your pockets."

Alaina chooses this moment to intervene. Her manicured right hand settles on his arm, light and somewhat soothing, while the other one pushes her hair back in a move so calculated to show off her neck and look sexy, but non-threatening at the same time, that Jared can't entirely hold back his snicker.

"Jared," she tries anyway, "Mark and I almost broke up when he confessed how wrong he did by you. His actions back then were not those of an honorable man. I warned him that, should he ever hope to create a family with me, his duty commanded that he come to buy you back and spend the rest of his life asking for your forgiveness. I understand it might seem difficult right now to accept his apology and imagine living with him again, but the way Mark described you, I'm sure you'll find it in your heart to trust him again and come back with us. We can be such a beautiful family. Our children will need their uncle. We will need you."

Although he has absolutely no intention to give in, Jared can't help but feel a tiny little bit moved by the idea that he could maybe have that kind of family. But he has Jensen now. Jensen who can't hold back any longer.

"That's enough. Jared won't go anywhere, and certainly not with you. You're not welcome in this house, you should leave now," he practically orders, eyes boring into Mark's.

His brother flushes with anger, true to himself in his quick temper. He knows he's no match for Jensen so he turns to his brother again.

"Jared, I hate to do this, but I'm acting as your legal protector here. I can contest the validity of this marriage and get a judge from our planet to legislate once and for all upon my right to decide for you. You're still not an adult out there and I know what you need."

Jensen and Jared share a loving smile.

"Maybe you could have," Jared admits, "but that was before this afternoon. You didn't give me time to share the happy news with you ! We're just coming back from the chapel where we were married again, in front of the Noction god and its law, with free and willing consent this time on both parts. Good luck having our union ruled illegal !"

For a moment, Mark's face looks just like the deformed version of Jensen's Reverie, so furious he's ready to launch an attack. Alaina is once again the one to calm him down, proving that, whatever their ultimate scheme might be, she does act like a soothing balm on Mark's easily-frayed temper and that she's the one wielding the power in their couple.

"Jared," she uses the same soothing tone on him, "as I said, I understand your wariness. I told Mark he shouldn't hope for too much, too soon, that you would need time to think about all this and come to terms with the way he treated you. I'm so pleased to see that you found happiness despite the way it all went down – Jensen, thank you for this ! And I feel, in the bottom of my heart, that we can all be friends. Take as much time as you need, we'll be there hoping for a sign from you. Right, darling ?"

"Absolutely," Mark approves. "I'm not going to give up on you, Jared, I want to be able to face our parents on the day of the Last Meeting and tell them that I've done my best to make up for my mistakes, that I strived to become a good brother. I'll be waiting for as long as necessary."

\-------------

Life gets back to normal after his brother's departure, and yet Jared feels constantly observed. He doesn't go outside alone, certain that Mark is planning something, something that he won't like one bit.

Jensen does some hacking but he can't find much beyond the fact that most of the money he spent to buy Jared has been depleted already. The sleek space cruiser Mark's traveling with explains what a huge part of it bought, as well as the royal suite already purchased for the next ten years in the best hotel back on their planet, but a lot also went into benders and women.

Information is even more sketchy about Alaina. She seems to have appeared on Jared's former planet a few days before she met Mark but that's it. Digging deeper, there were traces of her passage on Earth at the same time a series of daring heists made the headlines because of the impressive body count left in their wake.

They're both pretty sure that Alaina is not the nice and pretty woman she tries to pass for, that she's probably even more dangerous than Mark and won't be stopped easily in her bid to gain the valuable profit she has in sight.

Jensen and Jared were probably just as much in peril before because of their money but it never occurred to them to take any shielding measure. The threat is real now. Jensen figures the greatest danger is that Mark and his wife could kidnap Jared to sell him again, for an even bigger amount this time, to his devoted and loving husband who was stupid enough to spend a fortune on a mere stranger. Jensen doesn't mind the money, but he's afraid that something bad might happen to Jared if he's taken, and he can't stand the idea of Mark getting away once again with using Jared that way. Then who's to say he won't do it again and again, until someone is injured, or worse ?

Jensen buys android bodyguards whose programming he tempers to make sure no one else can and that they will protect Jared at all costs. Two of them, Brian and Dom, are Jared's personal detail and never leave his side as soon as they leave the house. They come in handy when, as the ruse didn't work, Mark decides to go with brutal force and forces his way in at night.

At least, they come in handy for Mark, who manages with a weird-looking gun emitting waves of some kind to knock their programming on its ass enough to order them to take Jared to his cruiser. Jensen is lying on the floor, unconscious after Mark knocked him out too, the old-fashioned way, and unaware of Jared's calls for help as he is taken away.

The route to the landing base is mostly free at this time of night so they get to Mark's cruiser much too fast, Jared marched by his own bodyguard towards his fate. Alaina is waiting for them in the cruiser's cargo hold, gorgeous in her red, form-fitting, wraparound dress and coordinated make-up, smiling even more than usual at the sight of their victim.

"Welcome, Jared," she says with a peck of her bright-red lips on his cheek as his androids tie him up to a chair. "I told you we'd be a family someday, and here you are."

Jared stays silent, fuming inside, and looks right in front of him, ignoring everyone. He can feel the cruiser is in pre-flight process, hull already vibrating with the powering of the engines.

"Let me go," he orders, "and I won't press charges."

He knows it's pointless, but he has to try to make time for the rescue party, if there's to be one.

"And lose the opportunity to get to know you ? I don't think so."

"I understand your pain, but you know Jensen is going to pay, so there won't be a lot of time for us to get acquainted."

"I'm sure he would, but that's not the plan. Not right now, anyway."

That gets Jared's attention and he can't help turning his eyes on his abductors.

"What's the plan then ?"

"We figured we could sell you around first," Mark answers, "make a bit of money everywhere we go in the next few months, and then come back to talk to your husband. I'm sure Mr. Ackles will be even more amenable after we give him enough time to worry."

"Shut up, Mark !" Alaina orders. "Why don't you tell him where we're going and when, too ?"

"Heavens, Al, cool it ! It's not as if he could go and tell anyone about our plans."

"Stop calling me Al, you know I hate it. And the less he knows, the less we're risking."

"That's true," Jensen's voice interrupts them from the hallway.

They all turn to his husband and the policemen flanking him, all of them armed and ready to fire. Mark and Alaina try to raise their weapons but Brian and Dom are on them immediately, twisting their arms until they release the guns and then restraining them.

Jensen is by Jared's side in the next moment, on his knees to untie his ankles and wrists.

"We'll have to put that scene to better use in the Reverie," Jared suggests to his husband with a cheeky leer.

Jensen watches Jared with so much love in his eyes that it's clear Jared will get all his desires enacted in their joint dreams for a long while.

They help each other to stand up and share a kiss before they turn back to the kidnappers and their androids.

"It was all plotted to trap us, right ?" Alaina realizes. "The easy way in and out, the supposedly disabled androids, Jared making us talk… All you wanted was to get us arrested and condemned."

"Good insight, Al," Jensen mocks her.

"And you used your beloved husband to get us arrested ?" Mark pretends to be shocked. "That's cold, Ackles !"

"Actually," Jared intervenes, "that was my plan. I had the hardest time getting Jensen to accept it."

The policemen take Mark and Alaina into custody and Jared turns to Jensen to release in each other's arms all the tension they have accumulated in the last few weeks.

\-------------

There's another side to the Reverie that Jensen didn't tell Jared about at first : a deeper dream status, called the Songe. It was also named after a poem, but this one had been written about ten centuries ago in a language Jared doesn't understand.

Jensen translated part of it for him. _"Life is a dream that lasts a bit longer than a night."_

The Songe experience feels the same, but you can't get out of it on your own and the only person allowed to join you is the one who put you there. Jensen developed it for the ministry of justice to make sure prisoners, especially the most dangerous ones, wouldn't cause trouble during their incarceration time. Someone who dreams most of his life away can't wreak havoc on the real world.

Condemned foreigners are the main opponents, protesting against such a sentence, but they're not the only ones. Many Noction citizens do too. Jensen himself protested when he realized the ministry was using it to coerce more and more prisoners, parking them in cells of ten where they were kept constantly asleep and reeducated through their dreams.

He doesn't protest when Jared's kidnappers might end up there.

Alaina manages to escape somehow between the prison and the tribunal. Jared's not surprised, the woman is smart and every detail of the case points to the certainty that she was indeed the mastermind behind the whole scheme. But Mark is convicted of assault and kidnapping. Two days after the verdict, he's taken to the prisoner storage unit number 78 on the third Noction moon and put into Songe for the next fifteen years. The content of his dreams will be monitored to determine if he can be trusted back into the world by the end of his imprisonment.

Jared should probably feel bad about it. And he does, kind of. But he can only think that he doesn't have to watch out for danger anymore. Alaina is a professional, she'll find another place to ransack, other people to ransom, planets where no one knows her. Jared is free of his past, and he's in love with the most wonderful man. 

His husband is waiting for him and they have a life to live together. No Songe or Reverie could make it any better.

\------FIN------

**Author's Note:**

> The poem cited by Jensen he named the Songe after is [La vie est un songe](http://poesie.webnet.fr/lesgrandsclassiques/poemes/jacques_vallee_des_barreaux/la_vie_est_un_songe.html) by [Jacques Vallée des Barreaux](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Vall%C3%A9e,_Sieur_Des_Barreaux), a bisexual and libertine poet living in the 17th century. Jensen translates approximately the last sentence of the poem : "…cette vie ? C'est un songe qui dure un peu plus qu'une nuit."


End file.
